Surprise, surprise… Devon did it again! At his lecture for Oana Stanescu’s Harvard GSD class last week, Benji B read a quote from the 19th-century German multi-hyphenate Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Music is liquid architecture; architecture is frozen music.” Rarely do you see these worlds intersect. With his “just for fun” Rimowa Artbook Shelf Speakers, Devon Turnbull has done just that, adding another node to the network of architectural history, swapping out natural and painted wood for Rimowa’s trademarked ribbed aluminum — more steel and glass than earth and sky.
Though these speakers are a 1-of-1 art project, they mark an evolution in Devon‘s quest for “natural sound” — a journey he’s guided on, I think, by the text of the Narada Purana and the work of Erik Satie. The design of something spiritual. To be seen but not looked at, heard but not listened to. There’s an inherent irony in that Ojas speakers look and sound so impeccable they’re hard not to pay attention to. But in a luxury world, what blends in more than a Rimowa bag?
